Coating machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for applying coating material, by means of an applicator roll and a scraper member, to a portion of the vamp of a shoe upper that is mounted on a carriage that moves past the applicator roll and the scraper member to form a box toe.

United States Patent [191 Brastow COATING MACHINE Cari H. Brastow,Foxborough, Mass.

[75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton,

Mass.

[22] Filed: Nov. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 305,390

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 185,022, Sept 30,1971, Pat.

[52] US. Cl. 118/238, 118/241 [51] Int. Cl. B05c 1/00 [58] Field ofSearch 118/7, 202, 204, 238, 241,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,653,356 Brastow 118/7 [451Apr. 30, 1974 2,760,463 8/1956 McCready 1 18/238 X 3,277,867 10/1966Kilham et al. [18/204 3,605,151 9/1971 Maifield, Jr. et a1. 118/204 X3,052,210 9/1962 Hughes 118/238 3,342,158 9/1967 Bennett et a1. 1 18/73,680,527 8/1972 Barker et a1. 118/7 3/1973 Krolikov et a1. 118/238 XPrimary ExaminerJames Kee Chi Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Albert Gordon[57] ABSTRACT A machine for applying coating material, by means of anapplicator roll and a scraper member, to a portion of the vamp of a shoeupper that is mounted on a carriage that moves past the applicator rolland the scraper member to form a box toe.

5 (Ilaims, 11 Drawing Figures MEI La 0F 8 sis-0111.354

FIG. 4

PA'TENTEB APR 30-1914 SHEET 5 IF 8 MTENTEUAPRSO mm 33071354 sum 7 [1F 8FIG. 8

COATING MACHINE This is a division of application Ser. No. 185,022 filedSept. 30, 1971 which has been granted as U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,219.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention isan improvement of thecoating machine disclosed in my application Ser. No. 69,069 filed Sept.2, 1970 which has been granted as U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,356.

The earlier disclosure discloses a machine for applying a coating to aworkpiece by an applicating assembly, the applicating assembly beingconstituted by an applicator member and a scraper member that is locatedforwardly of the applicator member. The workpiece is mounted on acarriage below the applicating assembly for forward-rearward movement,and the applicating assembly is mounted for heightwise movement. Whilethe applicating assembly is in an upper position, the carriage, with theworkpiece thereon, is moved rearwardly from a front position to a backposition. After the carriage has Commenced rearward movement and is inan intermediate position between the front and back positions, thecarriage is temporarily stopped and the applicating assembly is lowered,after which the carriage continues its rearward movement. As a result,any blob of coating material that had been formed on the scraper memberduring a preceding machine cycle is wiped onto a portion of theworkpiece that will subsequently be coated. The carriage is then movedforwardly to the front position to enable the applicator member to applya coating to the workpiece to a thickness determined by the spacingbetween the scraper member and the workpiece.

An applicating mechanism of said earlier disclosure for applying thecoating material to the workpiece comprises a housing having a hollowinterior defined by a front wall and a back wall. An applicator roll isrotatably mounted between the walls. When the roll is rotated, coatingmaterial supplied to the top of the rotating roll is transferred by thebottom of the roll that is located between the bottoms of the walls ontoa workpiece. When the applicating mechanism is shut off, the roll iscaused to cease its rotation and the walls are moved into engagementwith the roll to thereby trap the coating material in the housinginterior above the roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first aspect of the invention is concernedwith an improved arrangement for operating the machine in a faster andimproved manner while still enabling the blob on the scraper member tobe wiped onto the workpiece during the rearward movement of the carriageand to overcome disadvantages developing in operating efficiency byhaving the carriage temporarily stop during its rearward movement. Thisis accomplished by so constructing the machine that the carriage ismoved continuously from its front position to its back position and aworkpiece holder, mounted to the carriage for heightwise movement, israised during the movement of the carriage through an intermediateposition between the front and back positions.

A second aspect of the invention is concerned with the mechanism formoving the front and back walls against the roll and terminating therotation of the roll when the machine is shut off. The walls areyieldably urged against the roll and are held by powered means away fromthe roll when the roll is rotating. When the machine is shut off, anactuating means or, operating the powered means is deactuated so thatthe yieldable means causes the walls to move against the roll and amechanism operating in correlation with the deactuation of the actuatingmeans causes the roll to terminate its rotation. This arrangementenables the walls to be brought into engagement with the roll and theroll to terminate its rotation quickly and efficiently when the machineisshut down deliberately and also enables this to take placeautomatically in the event of a breakdown in any of the power mechanismsfor operating the machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partiallyin section, of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine, partially in section, taken on theline 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the machine taken on the line 3-3 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the machine taken on the line 4--4 ofFIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a representation of the workpiece and the applicating assemblyafter the carriage has commenced its rearward movement and before it israised;

FIG. 7 is a representation of the workpiece and the applicating assemblywhen the carriage is in its back position at the completion of itsrearward movement;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the workpiece with the coating applied thereto;

FIG. 9 is a view taken on the line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view of a part of the pneumatic control circuit of themachine; and

FIG. 11 is a view of a part of the electrical control circuit of themachine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The operator-is intended tostand to the right of the machine as seen in FIG. 1. The parts andpositions closest to the operator will be designated front and the partsand positions furthermost from the operator will be designated back.Movements toward the operator will be designated as forward andmovements away from the operator will be designated as rearward.

Referring to FIGS. 14, the machine comprises a mount 10 to which aresecured a pair of spaced channels 12, 14 (FIG. 4). A carriage 16 ismounted to the mount 10 for forward-rearward movement by means ofrollers 18 that are rotatably mounted to the carriage and are receivedin the channels 12, 14.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, front links 20 are pivoted to the carriage16 by pivots 22 and back links 24 are pivoted to the carriage 16 bypivots 26. While only one link 20 and one link 24 are shown in FIGS. 1and 5, a pair of each of these links is provided on opposite sides ofthe carriage 16, the front links 20 being connected by a tie bar 28 andthe back links 24 being connected by a tie bar 30. A connecting link 32is pivoted at its front to each front link 20 and is pivoted at its backto each back link 24. A cam follower 34 is mounted to the bottom of oneof the front links 20 and is adapted to bear against a cam track 36 thatis secured to the mount and extends in a forward-rearward direction. Acam follower 38 is mounted to a lever 39 that is pivoted to said frontlink 20 by a pivot 40. A tension spring 42, interposed between the lever39 and a holder 43 that is secured to the tie bar 28, yieldably urgesthe lever 39 rearwardly against a stop 44 that is secured to said frontlink 20. The cam follower 38 is adapted to bear against a cam track 46that is secured to the mount 10 alongside the cam track 36 and alsoextends in a forward-rearward direction.

A base 48 has depending prongs 50 that are pivoted to the links 20 and24 by pivots 52. A plate 54 is mounted to the base 48 for heightwisemovement. An air-operated motor 56, mounted to the base 48, has anupwardly extending piston rod 58 that extends through the base 48 and issecured to the plate 54. The'plate 54 is so constructed that its sidesare rearwardly convergent. A block 60 is secured to the top of the plate54. The sides of the block 60 converge rearwardly similarly to the sidesof the plate 54 but are located inwardly of the sides of the plate 54 soas to form a step 62 in the sides of the plate 54. A clamp 64 is securedto the base 48. The sidesof the clamp 64, which are located outwardly ofthe sides of the block 60 and converge rearwardly similarly to the sidesof the plate 54 and the block 60, are located above the step 62.

An air operated motor 66, mounted to a bracket 68 that is secured to andextends upwardly of the mount 10, has a piston rod 70 that is secured tothe carriage 16 so as to effect forward-rearward movement of thecarriage.

A housing 72 is mounted to the mount 10 to extend upwardly thereof. Acement melting chamber 74 is mounted to the top of the housing 72 andhas a strip heater 76 (FIG. 1) located in its bottom. A channel 78 islocated between channel walls 79 and 81 and extends from the chamber 74to a position above an applicator roll 80 and between a front wall 82and a back wall 84. The applicator roll 80 and the front and back walls82 and 84 are located between side walls 86 (FIG. 2) of the housing 72.The applicator roll 80 is rotatably mounted in the side walls 86 and isconnected via a sprocket 88, a chain 90 and a sprocket 92 to an electricmotor 94 that is adapted to rotate the roll clockwise as seen in FIG. 1.

The front wall 82 is pivotally mounted to the side walls 86 for swingingby pins 96 so that its bottom may be moved towards and away from theperiphery of the applicator roll 80. A flexible seal 98, made of a heatresistant material such as silicone, extends between the front wall 82and the channel wall 79. The front wall 82 is mounted to a bracket 100that has a pin 102 extending therethrough. The pin 102 is adapted tobear against the channel wall 79 to limit the extent to which the frontwall 82 may swing counterclockwise (FIG. 1) about the axes of the pins96. A screw 104, mounted to an extension 106 of the wall 79, is adaptedtobear against the bracket 100 to limit the extent of clockwise movement(FIG. I) of the front wall 82 about the axes of the pins 96.

The back wall 84 is pivotally mounted to theside walls 86 for swingingmovement by pins 108 so that its bottom may be moved towards and awayfrom the periphery of the applicator roll 80. A flexible seal 110,constructed similarly to the seal 98, extends between the back wall 84and the channel wall 81.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a transverse shaft 112 is rotatably mountedto the housing 72. A pair of levers 1 14 are swingable about the shaft112 and extend rearwardly thereof. A weight 116 is secured to andextends between the backs of the levers 114. One of the levers 114 has aprojection 118 extending forwardly of the shaft 112. A pin 120 in theprojection 118 is received in a slot 122 formed in a strut 124. Thestrut 124 is' secured to a transvere bar 126, and each of the ends ofthe bar 126 is secured to the back of longitudinal bar 128. The frontsof the bars 128 are secured to the bracket 100 which, as stated above,has the front wall 82 mounted thereto- A lever 130 is secured to theshaft 112 for unitary movement therewith by a pin 132. A leg of thelever 130 that extends'forwardly of the shaft 112 has a pin 134 securedthereto that is received in a slot 136 formed in the back of an arm 138.The front of the arm 138 is secured to the back wall 84. An arm 140 issecured to the shaft 112 for unitary movement therewith and extendsforwardly. of one end of the shaft 112. A weight 142 is connected to thefront of the arm 140.

The cylinder 144 of an air operatedmotor 146 is pivoted by a pin 148 tothe levers 114. The piston rod 150 of the motor 146 has a clevis 512secured thereto that is pivoted by a pin 154 to a leg of the lever 130that extends downwardly of the shaft 112.

A scraper blade 156 (FIG. 1) is located below the front wall 82 andforwardly of the applicator roll 80. The back of the scraper blade 156extends circumferentially about the applicator roll 80 and terminates ina scraping edge 158 that is located below the applicator roll. The blade156 is mounted at its opposite ends to a pair of longitudinal, bars 160and 162. A transverse bar 163 is secured to and connects the bars 160and 162. The bars 160 and 162 are pivoted to the housing 72 by pins 164.A housing 168, secured to the bar 160, has a downwardly depending camfollower that is in intersecting relationship with a cam 172 (FIG. 3)that is mounted to the carriage 16. A spring 174, interposed between themount 10 and the housing 168 acts to yieldably urge the scraper blade156 clockwise (FIG. 1) about the axis of the pins 164 to a positionwherein the end of an extension 176 (FIG. 3) of the bar 162 abutsagainst a stop 178 that is secured to the housing 72.

When the machine is running in its idle condition: the piston rod 58 isretracted into the motor 56 so that the plate 54 and the block 60 are ina lower position with the step 62 spaced from the clamp 64; the pistonrod 70 is projected out of the motor 66 so that the carriage 16 is in aforward position; the motor 94 is rotating the applicator roll 80clockwise (FIG. 1); the piston rod 150 of the motor 146 is projected outof the cylinder 144 to thus urge the levers 114 clockwise (FIG. 1)which, through the members 118, 120, 122,124, 126, 128 and 100, urgesthe bottom of the front wall 82 forwardly about the axis of the pins 96to a position wherein it is spaced from the applicator roll 80, and tothus urge the lever 130 counterclockwise until a lug 180 (FIG. 1) on thelever 130 engages a stud 182 fixed to the housing 72 which, through themembers 134, 136, and 138 urges the bottom of the back wall 84rearwardly about the axis of the pins 108 to a position wherein it isspaced from the applicator roll 80; the spring 174 is urging the scraperblade 156 downwardly and clockwise (FIG. 1) about the axis of the pins164 to a position wherein the bar extension 176 engages the stop 178;and molten thermoplastic coating material is being supplied from theheated chamber 74 through the channel 78 to the rotating applicator roll80. The coating material, which is maintained in a molten viscous stateby electric cartridge heaters 184 in the walls 82 and 84, adheres to therotating roll 80 and forms a film on the periphery of the roll.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and '7, the vamp 186 of a shoe upper is placed onthe block 60 in such a manner that its convergent sides are draped onthe step 62 below and spaced from the clamp 64. The motor 56 is nowactuated to raise the piston rod 58 together with the plate 54 and theblock 60 to clamp the sides of the vamp between the step 62 and theclamp 64, as seen in FIG. 6, with an exposed portion 188 of the vamp 186which is to be coated situated above the clamp 64. The plate 54, block60 and clamp 64 thus form elements of a workpiece holder.

Now the motor 66 is actuated to move the carriage 16, together with theclamped vamp 186, rearwardly. When the machine is running in its idlecondition, the cam followers 34 and 38 are in the FIG. 5 position withthe cam follower 34 bearing against the cam track 36 and the camfollower 38 bearing against the cam track 46. At this time, the lever 39is swung clockwise (FIG. 5) about the pivot 40 away from the stop 44.Shortly after the carriage 16 commences its rearward movement, the camfollower 38 rises on an incline 190 of the cam track 46 so that thelever 39 swings further away from the stop 44.

Near the end of the rearward movement of the carriage 16, the camfollower 34 rises on an incline 192 to cause the front links 20 and theback links 24 to respectively swing clockwise (FIG. 5) about the pivots22 and 26 and thus raise the block 60, the clamp 64 and the vamp 186 toa position wherein the exposed vamp portion 188 is proximate theapplicator roll 80 and the scraping edge 158. As a result of this riseof the members 60 and 64, the cam follower 38 and the lever 39 clear thetop of the cam track 46 and are swung coun terclockwise (FIG. 5) by thespring 42 to a position wherein the lever 39 bears against the stop 44.In this position the lever 39 is inclined downwardly and rearwardly(rightwardly in FIG. 5) from the pivot 40. The carriage 16 completes itsrearward movement when the parts arrive in the FIG. 7 position with theapplicator roll 80 and the scraping edge 158 proximate to the exposedvamp portion 188. When the parts are in the FIG. 7 position, the camfollower 170 is forwardly (leftwardly in FIG. 3) of the cam 172 so thatthe scraping edge 158 is in a relatively low position spaced close to orin contact with the top of the vamp portion 188.

Now themotor 66 is actuated to move the carriage l6 forwardly to itsstarting position. The movement of the cam follower 34 past the rise 192at the beginning of this forward movement does not affect the heightwiseposition of the block 60, the clamp 64 and the vamp 186 as the camfollower 38 bearing against the cam track 46 serves to keep the block60, the clamp 64 and the vamp 186 in their upper positions due to thebearing of the lever 39 against the stop 44 with the aforementionedinclination. During this forward movement of the carriage 16, the filmof thermoplastic material on the periphery of the roll 80 is transferredonto the exposed vamp portion 188 to form a coating 194 (FIGS. 8 and 9)on the vamp. The thickness of the coating is determined by the spacingbetween the scraping edge 158 and the vamp portion 188 with the scrapingedge scraping off that portion of the coating material that intersectsit. The scraped off coating material is returned upwardly of the rollinto the area between the walls 82 and 84 by the rotating roll 80. Asthe carriage 16 commences its forward movement, the cam follower ismoved upwardly by the cam 172 to thereby, by means of the members 160and 168, swing the scraper blade 156 upwardly about the axis of the pins164 and further away from the vamp portion 188. The coating 194, asindicated in FIG. 9, therefore is of graduated thickness at one end, asindicated by the number 196.

Near the end of the forward movement of the carriage 16 and after thecoating 194 has been applied to the exposed vamp portion 188, the camfollower 38 moves down therise to thereby respectively swing the links20, 24 clockwise (FIG. 5) about the pivots 22, 26 and thus lower theblock 60, the clamp 64 and the vamp 186 until the cam follower 34 bearsagainst the cam track 36. During this lowering movement, the camfollower 38 and the lever 39 swing clockwise (FIG. 5) about the axis ofthe pivot 40 against the force of the spring 42 into the FIG. 5position.

When the carriage 16 has returned to its initial forward position, thepiston rod 58 is retracted into the motor 56 so as to lower the plate 54and the block 60 and thus release the vamp 186 from the clamp 64.

The coating 194 rigidifies into a stiffener or box toe on the vamp 186which, in a completed shoe, stiffens the toe portion of the shoe. Thegraduated portion 196 of the coating 194 forms the feathered edge whichis desirable in box toes.

It has been found that at the end of a machine cycle a residue ofcoating material tends to adhere to and form a blob on the scraping edge158 and the portion of the scraper blade 156 contiguous thereto. If thisblob is not wiped off before the commencement of the coating operationduring the forward movement of the carriage 16 in the next machinecycle, the blob can be transferred onto the vamp portion 188 forwardly(leftwardly in FIG. 8) of the front of the coating to the left (FIG. 8)of the graduated portion 196. The raising of the vamp 186 by the rise192 before the carriage 16 has completed its rearward movement at thebeginning of a machine cycle causes the blob to be wiped off the scraperblade 156 by the vamp portion 188 during this rearward movement. Sincethe blob thus wiped onto the vamp portion 188 forms a part of thecoating 194 that is applied to the vamp portion 188 during thesubsequent forward movement of the carriage 16, the wiping off of theblob onto the vamp portion 188 does not adversely affect the coatingoperation.

Referring to FIG. 10, the motor 146 is maintained with the piston rod150 projected out of the cylinder 144 by pressurized air going from asource 198 through a line 200, a valve 202 and a line 204 to the blindend of the motor 146. Air from the line 204 also passes through a line206 to a pressure operated siitch 208 to move this switch from terminala to terminal b to close the switch. Referring to FIG. 11 wherein thelines 210 and 212 lead to a source of electric power, the closure of theswitch 208 causes the motor 94 to operate to rotate the applicator roll80. The valve 202 is maintained in a position to enable air to passtherethrough from the line 200 ot the line 204 by a solenoid 214, andthe solenoid 214 is energized in response to the closure of a switch216. I

The motor 146 operates to move the walls 82 and 84 away from the roll 80against the yieldable force of the weights 116 and 142. These weightsare of such magnitude and the levers 114 and the arm 140 are of suchlength that the levers 114 and the weight 116 for the front wall 82 havea greater moment of force about the axis of the shaft 112 than the arm140 and the weight 142 for the back wall 84.

When it is desired to shut down the machine, the switch 216 is opened todeenergize the solenoid 214. Deenergization of the solenoid 214 resultsin the shutting off of the flow of air from the line 200 to 'the line204 to enable the pressurized air in the motor 146 and the switch 208 tovent to atmosphere through the valve 202. The air is vented from themotor 146 at a controlled rate by a flow control valve 218 to enable thereturn spring 219 of the motor 146 to retract the piston rod 150 intothe cylinder 144 at a controlled rate. Since the moment of force urgingthe front wall 82 towards the roll 80 is greater than the moment offorce urging the back wall 84 against the roll 80, the deenergization ofthe solenoid 214 will result in the front roll 82 moving against theroll 80 before the back roll 84 is moved against the roll 80. The air isalso vented from the switch 208 at a controlled rate by a flow controlvalve 220. The pressure operated switch 208 and the flow control valves218 and 220 are so set that the switch 208 moves from terminal b back toterminal a to shut off the motor 94 and thus terminate the rotation ofthe applicator roll 80 after the front wall 82 has engaged the roll 80and before the back wall 84 has engaged the roll 80.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that, when the machine is shut off,first the front wall 82 engages the roll 80, then the roll 80 stops itsrotation and then the back wall 84 engages the roll. The engagement ofthe front wall 82 with the downwardly rotating side of the roll cuts offthe film of coating material on the roll periphery between the portion222 (FIG. 1) of the interior of the housing 72, that is locatd above theroll 80 between the wall 82, 84 and 86, and the front wall 82. The filmof coating material that extends clockwise (FIG. 1) about the rollperiphery from the front wall 82 to the back wall 84 is carried by theupwardly rotating side of the roll into the housing interior portion222. By the time the back wall 84 engages the stationary roll 80, thereis no film of coating material on the portion of the roll periphery thatextends about the bottom of the roll between the walls 82 and 84.Therefore, when the back wall 84 engages the stationary roll 80, all ofthe coating material is trapped above the roll between the walls 82, 84and 86 and the undesirable effects created by having coating materialdripping downwardly of the stationary roll are avoided. Seals (notshown) are provided between the roll 80 and the side walls 86 to preventleakage of the coating material between the roll 80 and the side walls86 both when the roll 80 is rotating and when the roll 80 is stationary.

Should there be an electrical power failure which will causedeenergization of the solenoid 214, the machine will still be shut offin the sequence set forth above.'in addition, should there be a failurein the pneumatic system, such as leakage in the lines 204 or 206, themachine will shut off in the sequence set forth above.

I claim:

1. A machine for applying a coating to a portion of a workpiececomprising: an applicating assembly constituted by an applicator memberand a scraper member located forwardly of the applicator member; acarriage, located below the applicator assembly, mounted forforward-rearward movement; a workpiece holder for holding said workpieceso that said workpiece portion is exposed for the application thereto ofcoating material; means mounting the workpiece holder to the carriagefor heightwise movement between a lower position wherein the applicatingassembly is remote from said workpiece portion ina heightwise directionand an upper position wherein the applicating assembly is proximate tosaid workpiece portion in a heightwise direction; means for initiallymaintaining the carriage in a front position wherein the workpiece maybe mounted to the carriage in a location that is forward of theapplicating assembly; means for initially maintaining the workpieceholder in its lower position; means for moving the carriage rearwardlyin a continuous movement from the front position to a back position;means, effective when the carriage is moving through an intermediateposition between the front position and the back position wherein saidworkpiece portion is below the applicating assembly for raising theworkpiece holder to said upper position; and means for thereafter movingthe carriage forwardly from the back position to the front position withthe workpiece holder maintained in its upper position during the forwardmovement of said workpiece portion past the applicating assembly toenable the applicator member to apply a coating to the workpiece portionto a thickness determined by the spacing between the scraper member andthe workpiece portion; the rearward movement of the carriage between theintermediate position and the back position enabling any blob of coatingmaterial that had previously been formed on the scraper member to bewiped onto said workpiece portion.

2. The machine as defined in claim 1 further comprising: means forlowering the workpiece holder to said lower position during said forwardmovement of the carriage after said workpiece portion has movedforwardly of the applicating assembly.

3. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said means mounting theworkpiece holder to the carriage for heightwise movement and for movingthe workpiece holder between and maintaining it in said upper and lowerpositions, comprises: link means mounted to the carriage for heightwisemovement; means connecting the link means to the workpiece holder; camfollower means mounted to said link means; 'cam track means so locatedas to be cooperatively associated with the cam follower means during therearward and forward carriage movements; and means so constructing thecam follower means and the cam track means as to effect said initialmaintenance of the workpiece holder in its lower position, the raisingof the workpiece holder when the carriage is moving through saidintermediate position, and the maintenance of the workpiece holder insaid upper position during said forward movement of said workpieceportion past the applicating assembly.

4. The machine as defined in claim 3 further comprising: means soconstructing the cam follower means and the cam track means as to lowerthe workpiece holder to said lower position during said forward movementof the carriage after said workpiece portion has moved forwardly of theapplicating assembly.

5. The machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said cam follower means andcam track means comprise: a link constituting a part of said link means;a first cam follower mounted to said link; a first cam track, extendingin a forward-rearward direction, located below said first cam follower;a lever pivoted to said link for forward-rearward movement; a second camfollower mounted to the bottom of said lever; spring means yieldablyurging said lever rearwardly; stop means mounted to said link forlimiting the rearward movement of the lever under the influence of thespring means to a position wherein the lever extends downwardly andrearwardly; a second cam track, extending in a forward-rearwarddirection, located below said second cam follower; a rise in said firstcam track, interconnecting a lower level located forwardly of said riseand an upper level located rearwardly of said rise, located in anintermediate portion of said first cam track corresponding to saidintermediate position of said rearward carriage movement; and a rise insaid second cam track, interconnecting a lower level located forwardlyof said rise and an upper level located rearwardly of said rise, locatedforwardly of the rise in the first cam track in a portion of said secondcam track that corresponds to the position in which said workpiece islowered during said forward movement of the carriage.

1. A machine for applying a coating to a portion of a workpiececomprising: an applicating assembly constituted by an applicator memberand a scraper member located forwardly of the applicator member; acarriage, located below the applicator assembly, mounted forforward-rearward movement; a workpiece holder for holding said workpieceso that said workpiece portion is exposed for the application thereto ofcoating material; means mounting the workpiece holder to the carriagefor heightwise movement between a lower position wherein the applicatingassembly is remote from said workpiece portion in a heightwise directionand an upper position wherein the applicating assembly is proximate tosaid workpiece portion in a heightwise direction; means for initiallymaintaining the carriage in a front position wherein the workpiece maybe mounted to the carriage in a location that is forward of theapplicating assembly; means for initially maintaining the workpieceholder in its lower position; means for moving the carriage rearwardlyin a continuous movement from the front position to a back position;means, effective when the carriage is moving through an intermediateposition between the front position and the back position wherein saidworkpiece portion is below the applicating assembly for raising theworkpiece holder to said upper position; and means for thereafter movingthe carriage forwardly from the back position to the front position withthe workpiece holder maintained in its upper position during the forwardmovement of said workpiece portion past the applicating assembly toenable the applicator member to apply a coating to the workpiece portionto a thickness determined by the spacing between the scraper member andthe workpiece portion; the rearward movement of the carriage between theintermediate position and the back position enabling any blob of coatingmaterial that had previously been formed on the scraper member to bewiped onto said workpiece portion.
 2. The machine as defined in claim 1further comprising: means for lowering the workpiece holder to saidlower position during said forward movement of the carriage after saidworkpiece portion has moved forwardly of the applicating assembly. 3.The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said means mounting theworkpiece holder to the carriage for heightwise movement and for movingthe workpiece holder between and maintaining it in said upper and lowerpositions, comprises: link means mounted to the carriage for heightwisemovement; means connecting the link means to the workpiece holder; camfollower means mounted to said link means; cam track means so located asto be cooperatively associated with the cam follower means during therearward and forward carriage movements; and means so constructing thecam follower means and the cam track means as to effect said initialmaintenance of the workpiece holder in its lower position, the raisingof the workpiece holder when the carriage is moving through saidintermediate position, and the maintenance of the workpiece holder insaid upper position duRing said forward movement of said workpieceportion past the applicating assembly.
 4. The machine as defined inclaim 3 further comprising: means so constructing the cam follower meansand the cam track means as to lower the workpiece holder to said lowerposition during said forward movement of the carriage after saidworkpiece portion has moved forwardly of the applicating assembly. 5.The machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said cam follower means andcam track means comprise: a link constituting a part of said link means;a first cam follower mounted to said link; a first cam track, extendingin a forward-rearward direction, located below said first cam follower;a lever pivoted to said link for forward-rearward movement; a second camfollower mounted to the bottom of said lever; spring means yieldablyurging said lever rearwardly; stop means mounted to said link forlimiting the rearward movement of the lever under the influence of thespring means to a position wherein the lever extends downwardly andrearwardly; a second cam track, extending in a forward-rearwarddirection, located below said second cam follower; a rise in said firstcam track, interconnecting a lower level located forwardly of said riseand an upper level located rearwardly of said rise, located in anintermediate portion of said first cam track corresponding to saidintermediate position of said rearward carriage movement; and a rise insaid second cam track, interconnecting a lower level located forwardlyof said rise and an upper level located rearwardly of said rise, locatedforwardly of the rise in the first cam track in a portion of said secondcam track that corresponds to the position in which said workpiece islowered during said forward movement of the carriage.